Sort-of-Waldorf Salad

Yotam Ottolenghi adapts a classic Waldorf salad to this sort-of-Waldorf in Plenty More. The classic is a fruit and nut salad generally made of fresh apples, celery, grapes and walnuts, dressed in mayonnaise, and served on a bed of lettuce. He uses the British cobnuts but substitutes them with the more familiar hazelnuts for the American audience. The apple, celery, nuts and mayonnaise stay. For the green, he jazzes it up with red cabbage. There are no grapes. But the dried cranberries show up, although he lists them as optional in the recipe. I think the idea is brilliant. I like dried cranberries in my salad.

Who wouldn’t have apples and cranberries filling up their pantry in the fall? Frankly, I can’t walk through a grocery stores or a farmers’ market without being enticed to pick up a few. There are so many varieties of apple to try out. So, when Ottolenghi calls for Granny Smith, I go along as long as I can add another kind — in this case, Honeycrisp.

There is a lot of cutting and slicing involved. Looking at the picture, I can see that my red onions should be cut thinner. Well, I tried. This is the recipe to consider taking out the mandoline. Save yourself some time, that includes the time it takes to cleanup the equipment.

I didn’t stop there with ingredient substitutions: two kinds of apples. Since I have loads of apples, red cabbage, red onions, celery cut up in neat piles, why not showcase them prominently. Therefore, I grabbed a trifle bowl. Layered the individual ingredients. So here’s my sort-of-Waldorf salad in its full glory. Toss the salad right before serving it.

Who knows they taste just as good as they look? We finished the entire salad in no time!

Don’t skip the homemade mayonnaise. It’s a winner. If you haven’t made mayonnaise in your kitchen yet, this is the one to start. Ottolenghi’s recipe and instruction are short, but clear. It works. (I had my shares of failures in the past.) One egg yolk with shallot, Dijon mustard, maple syrup and cider vinegar. Blitz to combine in the food processor. Drizzle in the oils in a slow steady stream. (Be patient.) In no time, you’ll get a cup of the most flavorful and balanced mayonnaise that beats any from the store. No chemicals, no preservatives and as fresh as it comes. One important tip: make sure the yolk is at room temperature.

From the bottom up: apples, red cabbage, red onions, celery, cranberries, dill, yogurt and mayonnaise.

Print Recipe

Sort of Waldorf

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup/ 50g hazelnuts, shelled weight
• 1/4 head of red cabbage (about 300g), finely shredded
• 6 celery stalks (350g), cut into 1/4-inch thick slices
• 2 Granny Smith apples (2 3/4 cups/300g), thinly sliced (I used 1 Granny Smith and 1 Honeycrisp)
• ½ medium red onion (1/2 cup/60g), peeled and thinly sliced
• 2/3 cup/140g sour cream (I used Greek yogurt)
• 1 cup/ 50g dill, finely chopped
• 100g dried sour cherries or cranberries, optional
• salt and black pepper
• FOR THE MAYONNAISE:
• 1 small shallot (2 tbsp/20g) peeled and finely chopped
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp cider vinegar
• 1/3 cup/80ml sunflower oil
• 1/3 cup/80ml canola oil
• salt

Instructions

1

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Scatter the hazelnuts in an ovenproof dish and roast for 30 minutes, or until they take on some colour and are dry and crisp. Remove, set aside to cool down, then crush roughly.

2

MAKE THE MAYONNAISE:

3

Put the shallot, egg yolk, mustard, maple, vinegar and half a teaspoon of salt in a small bowl of the food processor. Whisk to combine, then add the oils in a slow stream, with the machine running, until you have a smooth, thick mayonnaise. Set aside.

4

Put the cabbage, celery, apples and onion in a large mixing bowl. Add the soured cream, dill, mayo, sour cherries or cranberries (if using), and some salt and black pepper. Use your hands to mix everything together thoroughly (don't mind if you break the apple slices; it's all part of the look). Taste and adjust the seasoning accordingly, transfer to individual plates and scatter nuts on top before serving.

Notes

https://www.theguardian.com/global/2009/oct/31/cobnut-waldorf-recipe-vegetarian-yotam-ottolenghi